Voters in the Ann Arbor Public School District will be asked to consider a bond proposal to upgrade school facilities and sites, enhance existing building security, and provide upgraded and sustainable learning environments throughout our district.
The bond program scope is based on a comprehensive facility assessment conducted by independent architects and engineers to assess the current and future building needs in our district. The $1 Billion Bond proposal will be used to improve the school district’s infrastructure and learning environments for the next 20 years.
Here are Frequently Asked questions on the Bond Proposal.
This is an article from Mlive.com with a school-by-school assessment of needs:
Check the health of Ann Arbor Public Schools' 35 buildings ahead of $1B bond vote
By Martin Slagter | mslagter@mlive.com
What are school bonds and why do we need them?
Not wanting to appear ignorant, I am reluctant to ask obvious questions about things that other people seem so confident in knowing. It did occur to me, however, that I had only a vague idea of what a school bond does and why we might need one.
First of all, Michigan is one of only 12 states in the country that does not provide state funding for school infrastructure.
Our schools are funded primarily by local property taxes, called millages. A mill is 1/1000 of a dollar. Property taxes are computed by multiplying the taxable value of the property by the number of mills levied.
Major infrastructure improvements to schools are funded by school bonds. A bond is like a mortgage that makes funding available now or in the near future. Bonds are sold as an investment and paid back with interest to bond holders with millage increases that are approved by voters in millage elections.
I found this article on school bonds that gives a straightforward explanation on how they work and what they do:
How Do School Bonds Work?
By: Nick Robinson
Reviewed by: Michelle Seidel, B.Sc., LL.B., MBA
Updated November 08, 2018
“School systems don't usually have a lot of extra cash on hand, so when they want to make large capital expenditures like building new facilities or making major repairs, they have to borrow money. School bonds are a way for school districts to borrow money. Investors buy promissory notes like school bonds. The school district gets cash in the short term and agrees to pay the investor back over a fixed period of time.”
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The AAPS website includes more information, including the estimated cost to homeowners and a schedule of events where the issue will be discussed.
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FYI: Due to the passage of the statewide ballot proposal in November 2018, all eligible and registered voters in Michigan may now request an absent voter ballot without providing a reason.
See the League of Women Voters "vote 411" Website for personalized voting information.
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